Rotatable arrowhead
A rotatable arrowhead having a blade-carrying body that rotates with respect to a shaft that is attached with respect to an arrow shaft. In one embodiment, the rotatable arrowhead has a body and a tip portion that preferably rotate together with respect to the shaft of the arrowhead. The shaft extends within a through bore of the body. A portion of the shaft has a peripheral retention groove about at least a portion of a periphery of the shaft. The tip portion accommodates a retainer. In an assembled condition of the arrowhead, the retainer is positioned within the retention groove. In another embodiment, the rotatable arrowhead has a body that rotates with respect to the shaft of the arrowhead. The shaft extends within the through bore of the body, either partially or completely. The retainer can be mounted within the body or the tip portion, depending upon whether or not the tip portion rotates with respect to the body.
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1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to an arrowhead having a tip portion fixed with respect to a body, wherein the tip portion and the body either rotate together with respect to an arrow shaft or are fixed with respect to the arrow shaft.
2. Discussion of Related Art
Some conventional arrowheads have blades which rotate with respect to an arrow shaft. However, the conventional arrowheads have a tip portion fixed with respect to the arrow shaft and the blade-carrying body rotates with respect to the arrow shaft and the tip portion.
In conventional arrowheads, a blade-carrying body is mounted rotatably between a tip portion and an element, such as an adapter, mounted to the arrow shaft. The blade-carrying body rotates with respect to the arrow shaft but the tip portion or structure is fixed with respect to and thus does not rotate with respect to the arrow shaft.
U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,006,901, 4,175,749 and 4,203,601 disclose arrowheads wherein the blade-carrying body rotates with respect to both the arrow shaft and the tip structure, which are fixed with respect to each other.
There is an apparent need for a rotatable arrowhead that no longer requires a tip portion to be fixed with respect to the arrow shaft. Also, there is an apparent need for a rotatable arrowhead that can be easily manufactured and conveniently assembled and disassembled, for example to simplify parts replacement procedures.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTIONIt is one object of this invention to provide a rotatable arrowhead that has both a tip portion and a blade-carrying body that rotate together with respect to the arrow shaft.
It is another object of this invention to provide a rotatable arrowhead that can be easily assembled and disassembled, particularly for interchanging or replacing blades.
The above and other objects of this invention are accomplished with a rotatable arrowhead having a body, such as a blade-carrying body, which has a through bore or a closed bore. A shaft is adapted, such as with an externally threaded shaft, to a conventional and standard receiver which is fixed with respect to any one of different conventional and standard arrow shafts. The shaft extends within the through bore. A shaft portion of the shaft extends beyond an end portion of the body.
The shaft portion has a peripheral retention groove and/or ridge that extends about at least a portion of a periphery of the shaft portion.
A tip portion is rotatably mounted with respect to the shaft.
A retainer, such as a pin, a set screw or another suitable projection, extends within the retention groove of the shaft portion. In an assembled condition of the arrowhead, with one or more projections extending within the retaining groove and/or about a ridge, the tip portion has limited longitudinal movement with respect to the shaft. In one embodiment of this invention, a bias element is positioned with respect to the shaft, to urge the tip in a forward direction. The bias element, such as a compressible washer or a wave washer, forces the pin, set screw or other suitable projection to contact a forwardmost shoulder defining the retention groove.
In one embodiment of this invention, a blade is detachably mounted with respect to the body and the tip portion. For example, the blade can be mounted within a slot of the tip portion and within one or more slots of the body. The blade can fix the relative position of the tip portion with respect to the body and thus cause the tip portion and the body to rotate together with respect to the shaft.
In another embodiment of this invention, at least one blade is integrated with the body, to form a unitary structure of the body and each blade. The shaft portion having the retention groove can either extend beyond a forwardmost part of the body or can be contained within the through bore of the body. If contained within the through bore of the body, the retainer extends through a bore within the body. In the assembled condition of the body with respect to the shaft, the retainer fits within the retention groove. Thus, the body can be rotatably mounted with respect to the shaft, with limited movement in the longitudinal direction. The tip portion can be fixed with respect to the body.
The features of this invention can be better understood when this specification is read in view of the drawings, wherein:
As shown in
In one embodiment of this invention, body 24 has through bore 26, as shown in
As used throughout this specification and in the claims, the terms forward and rearward relate to a front and a rear of arrowhead 20, relative to a direction of flight of an arrow shaft to which arrowhead 20 is attached, in a conventional manner.
As shown in
Tip portion 45 accommodates retainer 50, preferably so that projection 52 of retainer 50 fits within retention groove 37 to interfere with and thus limit longitudinal movement of tip portion 45 with respect to shaft 30. In one embodiment of this invention, retainer 50 comprises at least one pin 51 mounted within each of one or more through bores 48 of tip portion 45. For example, three or more retainers 50 provide additional structural strength to arrowhead 20 than one or two retainers 50.
In one embodiment of this invention, pin 51 is generally cylindrical and can be press-fitted, adhered or otherwise fixed within through bore 48 and with respect to tip portion 45. In another embodiment of this invention, for example as shown in
As previously discussed, retention groove 37 can have any suitable cross section. Preferably, but not necessarily, the portion of retainer 50 that fits within retention groove 37 has a corresponding cross section that compliments or fits within retention groove 37. In one embodiment of this invention, tip portion 45 is urged in a forward direction until retainer 50 contacts the shoulder of retention groove 37. Thus, retention groove 37 and the portion of retainer 50 that fits within retention groove 37 preferably have complimentary cross sections that provide sufficient contact for interference purposes.
In one embodiment of this invention, bias element 40 urges tip portion 45 in the forward direction. As shown in
In one embodiment of this invention, washer 41 is constructed of a compressible material, such as a foam material, that has a bias force urging the compressed material back to its at rest condition. In another embodiment of this invention, washer 41 may comprise a wave washer or a lock washer that also has a bias force or tendency to return to its at rest condition when compressed. With washer 41 positioned between shoulder 33 and end surface 39 or any other suitable structure, washer 41 directly or indirectly urges body 24 in the forward direction towards tip portion 45, and thus takes up axial or longitudinal play between the elements of arrowhead 20. Any other suitable spring, washer or other bias element, either alone or in combination, can be used to accomplish the same result of reducing or eliminating axial or longitudinal play between elements of arrowhead 20.
In one embodiment of this invention, body 24 has an overall shape of a cartridge. As shown in
As shown in
In one embodiment of this invention, an outer diameter of at least a portion of shaft 30 is sized relative to an inner diameter of bore 26, to allow body 24 to freely rotate about shaft 30.
As shown in
As shown in
As shown in
In one embodiment of this invention, blade 60 retains tip portion 45 in a relatively fixed position with respect to body 24. Blade 60 is detachably mounted with respect to body 24 and with respect to tip portion 45. The detachable mounting provides easy assembly, disassembly and thus, for example, blade exchange or replacement.
As shown in
Retaining ring 55 may or may not be used throughout different embodiments of this invention. Retaining ring 55 can be used when blade 60 is exposed to relatively large forces, particularly forces that act upon arrowhead 20 to torque blade 60 with respect to longitudinal axis 25. Retaining ring 55 provides additional structural strength to hold the rearward portion of blade 60 and/or auxiliary blade 65.
Different combined features and/or elements, as discussed above, can be used to assemble arrowhead 20 according to this invention. Arrowhead 20 according to this invention can be used to rotate tip portion 45 with respect to shaft 30. During flight or in use, tip portion 45 rotates with respect to shaft 30. Body 24 is rotatably mounted about shaft 30 which extends within through bore 26. A relative position of tip portion 45 can be fixed with respect to body 24, to allow tip portion 45 and body 24 to rotate together with respect to shaft 30.
In the embodiments shown in
In the assembled condition of arrowhead 20 of
Although not shown in
As shown in
In the embodiment of arrowhead 20 as shown in
In another embodiment of this invention as shown in
As shown in
Tool 80 can be inserted within access opening 75, such as in the direction shown by the arrow in
The elements of this invention can be constructed of any suitable metal material, non-metal material, or any composite material. Different suitable materials for arrowhead construction are known to those skilled in the art of arrowhead design, construction and manufacture.
While in the foregoing specification this invention has been described in relation to certain preferred embodiments thereof, and many details have been set forth for purpose of illustration, it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that the invention is susceptible to additional embodiments and that certain of the details described herein can be varied considerably without departing from the basic principles of the invention.
Claims
1. A rotatable arrowhead comprising:
- a body having a bore, a shaft positioned at least partially within said bore, a shoulder fixed in a longitudinal position with respect to said shaft, said shaft having a peripheral retention groove about at least a portion of a periphery of said shaft, said body having a tip structure at least one of connected to or integrated with said body, at least one of said body and said tip structure accommodating a retainer, and said retainer positioned within said retention groove, said tip and said body rotating together with respect to said shaft, and a bias element positioned with respect to said shaft to urge said body toward said tip structure.
2. The rotatable arrowhead according to claim 1, wherein said bias element comprises a washer positioned about said shaft between a shoulder fixed with respect to said shaft and a rearward end of said body.
3. The rotatable arrowhead according to claim 2, wherein said washer is constructed of a compressible material.
4. The rotatable arrowhead according to claim 2, wherein said washer is a wave washer.
5. The rotatable arrowhead according to claim 1, wherein a shaft portion of said shaft extends beyond an end portion of said body.
6. The rotatable arrowhead according to claim 1, wherein said bore is a closed bore.
7. The rotatable arrowhead according to claim 1, wherein said bore is positioned along a longitudinal axis of said body.
8. The rotatable arrowhead according to claim 7, wherein in a direction perpendicular to said longitudinal axis said bore has a circular cross section.
9. The rotatable arrowhead according to claim 8, wherein said body forms a cartridge.
10. The rotatable arrowhead according to claim 1, wherein at least a portion of said shaft is cylindrical.
11. The rotatable arrowhead according to claim 1, wherein an outer diameter of at least a portion of said shaft is sized relative to an inner diameter of said bore to allow said body to freely rotate about said shaft.
12. The rotatable arrowhead according to claim 1, wherein said tip structure is rotatable with respect to said body.
13. The rotatable arrowhead according to claim 1, wherein said tip structure is integrated with said body.
14. The rotatable arrowhead according to claim 1, wherein said peripheral retention groove is completely about said periphery of said shaft.
15. The rotatable arrowhead according to claim 1, wherein at least one of said body and said tip structure has at least one through bore, said retainer comprises a pin mounted within one of said at least one through bore, and a portion of said pin interferes with said shaft to limit longitudinal movement of at least one of said body and said tip structure with respect to said shaft.
16. The rotatable arrowhead according to claim 15, wherein said pin is a set screw having screw threads engageable with internal threads of said at least one through bore.
17. The rotatable arrowhead according to claim 1, wherein said retainer comprises a projection extending from a surface of at least one of said body and said tip structure.
18. The rotatable arrowhead according to claim 17, wherein said projection is integrated with at least one of said body and said tip structure.
19. The rotatable arrowhead according to claim 1, wherein a collar is fixed with respect to said shaft and forms a shoulder.
20. The rotatable arrowhead according to claim 1, further comprising a blade detachably mounted with respect to at least one of said body and said tip structure.
21. The rotatable arrowhead according to claim 20, wherein said tip structure and said body rotate together with respect to said shaft.
22. A rotatable arrowhead comprising:
- a body having a bore, a shaft positioned at least partially within said bore, a shoulder fixed in a longitudinal position with respect to said shaft, said shaft having a peripheral retention groove about at least a portion of a periphery of said shaft, said body having a tip structure at least one of connected to or integrated with said body, at least one of said body and said tip structure accommodating a retainer, and said retainer positioned within said retention groove, said tip and said body rotating together with respect to said shaft, and said bore being a through bore.
23. A rotatable arrowhead comprising:
- a body having a bore, a shaft extending at least partially within said bore, a shoulder fixed in a longitudinal position with respect to said shaft, a tip structure mounted with respect to a shaft portion, a bias element between said shoulder and said body, and said tip and said body rotating together with respect to said shaft.
24. The rotatable arrowhead according to claim 23, wherein said body is positioned with respect to said shoulder without contact there between.
25. A method for rotating at least one of a body and a tip structure of an arrowhead with respect to a shaft of the arrowhead, the method comprising:
- with the arrowhead in an assembled condition rotatably mounting the body having a bore about the shaft that is positioned within said bore; and
- fixing a relative position of the tip structure with respect to the body; and
- fixing a shoulder with respect to a longitudinal position on said shaft.
26. In the method according to claim 25, further comprising positioning said body with respect to said shoulder without contact there between.
27. In the method according to claim 25, further comprising placing a bias element between said shoulder and said body.
4006901 | February 8, 1977 | Simo |
4093230 | June 6, 1978 | Simo |
4175749 | November 27, 1979 | Simo |
4203601 | May 20, 1980 | Simo |
4381866 | May 3, 1983 | Simo |
4534568 | August 13, 1985 | Tone |
4671517 | June 9, 1987 | Winters |
4781386 | November 1, 1988 | Armitage |
4986550 | January 22, 1991 | Segovia |
5496042 | March 5, 1996 | Craft et al. |
6398676 | June 4, 2002 | Mizek |
Type: Grant
Filed: Jan 16, 2003
Date of Patent: May 2, 2006
Patent Publication Number: 20040198540
Assignee: New Archery Products Corp. (Forest Park, IL)
Inventors: Robert S. Mizek (Downers Grove, IL), Christopher A. Kozlik (Schaumburg, IL), Miroslav A. Simo (Riverside, IL)
Primary Examiner: John A. Ricci
Attorney: Pauley Petersen & Erickson
Application Number: 10/345,823